Hebrew National Better Than-A-Picnic Picnic in Raleigh!

I’ve been looking for ways to engage Bird and Deal in community service since they were itty bittier than they are now. Nothing was ever really feasible for little kids. We started donating half their piggy bank money to charity every year on their birthdays. At first we picked the charity based on something spectacular (for instance, we gave the money to the SPCA when Bird turned one because his first word was “dog.”). In subsequent years the boys have chosen their own organizations that range from PBS to the firefighters fund to “the sick women mommy ran the race for” (Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure…I haven’t broken it to them yet that Mommy walks the race, lest I detract from the ooh ahh factor). We also pack up toys and such three times a year and haul everything to Goodwill, where the boys know that their old toys will brighten the days of some other child. We have been collecting various necessities on the local Ronald McDonald House list of needs that we will deliver this summer. We also adopt a family every Christmas and deliver presents to them. Our efforts have been fine and certainly age appropriate, but everything has focused on money and donating as opposed to rolling up the ole sleeves.

That’s about to change.

This is why I didn’t hesitate to sign on with The Motherhood when they asked me to host the Hebrew National Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic. It’s not just about free hot dogs, live music, and frolicking. It’s a chance to engage all ages in some community service. Our focus is on doing some simple things to help give our community a little boost. We’ll be decorating activity kits for children who have a sibling in one of the area children’s hospitals. Having volunteered with pediatric bone marrow transplant patients and their families for 10 years, I know how lonely and neglected and scared these kids can feel. We will also have a diaper drive for Help A Mother Out to benefit Interact and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Join us, won’t you? The Hebrew National Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic in Raleigh is on Friday, June 11th! It’s a great way to kick off summer for those kids on a traditional school year calendar who officially start summer on Friday.

Our local blogger hosts:

Ilina Ewen (yours truly), Dirt and Noise http://www.dirtandnoise.com

Molly Gold, Go Mom! http://www.gomominc.com

Jen Lawrence, Jael Custom Designs http://www.jaelcustomdesigns.com

Amanda Peel, Manda Blogs About http://mandablogsabout.blogspot.com

The Deets:

Date: June 11th, 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Location: Moore Square (downtown right across from Marbles Kids Museum)

Details about Moore Square: The park consists of a city block of green space in the southeast corner of downtown Raleigh, bounded by Hargett Street, Blount Street, Cabarrus Street and Chavis Street.

Here is a link to Moore Square on Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=moore+park,+raleigh,+nc&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=NLYGTKrSGMPflgf3o62HCw&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&ved=0CAYQ_AU

Who: You can bring kids, family, friends — many other local bloggers and their kids will be there too!

What: Fun, Hebrew National hotdogs, friends, a service project (details below)

There will be LOTS to do and enjoy — music, giant puzzles, a mechanical bull and other activites for kids and families, too!

Did someone say MECHANICAL BULL?!

Service projects:

1) In-kind diaper donation drive to benefit local Help A Mother Out organizations. Please bring diapers with you to donate at the Picnic!

2) “Sibling Kits” to donate to local hospitals Wake Med Children’s and Duke/UNC Children’s

We will decorate canvas bags and write a note of support to put inside. Then we will fill the bags with appropriate toys and activities. The siblings of hospitalized children rarely receive activity kits of this type while they wait at the hospital and we’ve determined an unmet need is taking a little extra care of the other kids in the families, too. We are very excited about this project.

There is an opportunity to make in-kind donations for the sibling kit project, as well.

Suggested items to donate for sibling kits for children’s hospitals:

• stickers
• crayons
• colored pencils
• paint by number kit
• activity books (like word find, connect the dot, etc.)
• coloring book
• plain drawing paper
• yo-yo
• Playdoh
• notepad and stamper
• playing cards
• comic books

Thank you! Hope you will join us! You can RSVP through Hebrew National’s Facebook page if you like: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131525146863643

To see what the Picnics are all about, check out the photos from our Picnics in New York and Boston! SO MUCH FUN!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/picnicswithapurpose/

I’ll be practicing my best “hawt dawg!” for the mechanical bull.